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Category Archives: opinion

This is great news! But if you already love organic fruit and veg, you probably know this already!

A study conducted by an international team of experts at Newcastle University, has proved that organic crops are up to 60% higher in antioxidants compared to non-organic. This proves once and for all that eco-friendly farming really does improve the nutritional quality of our food.

This is the largest ever study of its kind and shows that there is a substantial nutritional benefit to choosing organic produce rather than food made from conventionally grown crops. The study concluded that by switching to organic fruit and vegetables, the additional antioxidants that you receive is equivalent to eating between 1-2 extra portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

As a result of this extensive study, increased cost may no longer be a reason not to shop pesticide free. With more nutritionally dense fruit, vegetables and cereals, you can end up getting more for your money by switching to organic.

The study also proves that organic crops have significantly lower levels of cadmium, the toxic heavy metal. Like mercury and lead, cadmium can be extremely damaging to people who are repeatedly exposed, even at very low levels.

A York cyclist outraged by the bad behaviour of his fellow bikers has captured their dangerous moves on a head-cam and created a montage of the incidents (see link below) which include this guy removing his jacket whilst cycling! Also featured are jumping red lights, cutting up motorists and using mobile phones while pedalling. And how many cyclists do you see not wearing safety helmets?

Cycling Top Tip: Always wear a helmet!

Yeah! But….Some cyclists own cars, right?

Dont get me wrong, this is not about blaming cyclists! I love cycling, I own a Giant MTB, its zero carbon and i love riding anywhere i can on it, especially getting off road.
And…get this: the vast majority of cyclists drive cars too, in fact 83% according to the National Travel Survey, but have a preference for using a bike to travel for work and for recreation. If you regularly ride a bike this will probably make you a better, more considerate driver.
Do most drivers automatically assume cyclists dont drive? or understand the rules of the road? Does this attitude lead to incensed road rage aimed at cyclists?

Take cover, here comes the red mist…

Carlton Reid, blogger for BikeBiz.com had this example to give: “Do you have a driving licence?” The driver of the Fiat Punto had taken exception to the fact I had been in front of him at traffic lights, on a bicycle. When he overtook me he asked why I’d blocked him at the lights, and then came out with the driving licence question. We didn’t get into a long conversation (ironically, by slowing to berate me he was blocking all the cars behind him) but, wild stab in the dark here, he probably assumed that my sole means of transport is my bicycle and that a cyclist couldn’t possibly be a motorist as well.

If you cycle daily on the road, i expect you notice the impatience of many people when they get behind the wheel. Impatience that is aimed at all road users, not just bikes, caused by careless acts: cutting in, driving too fast/slow, not indicating or watching traffic lights/signs. Maybe this reaction is worse on the road due to human nature, time pressures, crowd mentality or some other psychology. I would passionately debate that the effect of heavy traffic, busy roads, long delays triggers the ‘fight or flight’ mode causing irrational and unsafe behaviour in many of us…for some cyclists maybe having an accident when no-one else is to blame!

Dont brake too hard in the rain!

Edmund King, president of the AA, often likes to point out that the “two tribes” mentality is corrosive. He cycles and he drives: “Because I work for the UK’s leading motoring organisation, some people assume I must drive everywhere. I don’t. Like many other drivers, I weigh up the options and take the best mode of transport for a particular journey.” Sir Chris Hoy has retired from cycling and taken to racing a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 but he still also cycles around his home city of Edinburgh, on errands no longer for Olympic training. Cyclists and motorists are not from different planets. “Them and us,” in reality, doesn’t exist.

So, should we be looking at ways to help the cyclist become more safe?

Danish design company TNO is working on exterior airbags.

In the Netherlands, where bicycles are ubiquitous, approximately 200 cyclists are killed each year after being struck by a car. If a car is going faster than 25 mph the collision is usually fatal. Suprisingly, helmets don’t help much during an impact of 12 mph or greater.

TNO looked at the impact points at a vehicle’s front end, concluding that automatic braking and external airbags positions at the bottom of the windshield would reduce the severity of crashes dramatically.

Using information from a camera mounted on the rear-view mirror, the system preps for a collision, and deploys an airbag to cushion the rider’s impact on the windshield.

For Volvo drivers this is nothing new, as the V40 (from 2013) already has this feature, but the technology won’t be making its way across to British shores yet.

To help cyclists learn to drive: 6 Top Tips For Modern Road Safety(yep! Drivers too)-

1) Keep your distance and allow time to stop in emergency
2) Be aware of other road users around you
3) Be seen in low light conditions
4) Clear signals
5)Expect the unexpected
6) Keep your cool!

I was out for coffee the other day with a non-tweeting friend. “So what’s Twitter actually like?” she asked.

I ummed and ahhed, and explained it all very badly, mumbling some fairly dry stuff about retweets and hashtags and follows. She didn’t look convinced. So I’ve been thinking about it ever since, and here’s what I’ve come up with.

I believe this year could be a good year for the small shops, businesses and traders…and i will tell you why

strong trends towards quality, individuality and service

Supermarkets are the main competitor for any small retailer in the UK as they have diversified into every sector. They rely heavily on volume sales with easily recognised top brand products and spend a great deal of time and money on analysing shopper data to get the balance right on promotions. Like all retailers, small or large, you make a choice to sell volume goods at a small profit or sell quality products at a higher profit: supermarkets need to fill baskets!

I think public opinion of supermarkets is low in the wake of meat quality concerns and mis-labelling. This graph from ONS data for Retail Sales shows clearly the dominance of volume sales and low profit goods slipping as we passed into 2011 and the demand for higher priced and quality niche products growing strong as we leave 2013.

I think this shows a definite trend towards quality, individuality and service, something the supermarkets naturally struggle to do and can never fully achieve. There maybe many reasons for this change in our shopping habits, but i believe strong motivations to buy are affected by;
1) Herding and Overcrowding
2) Perception of Value
3) The X Factor

queues, crowds, stress: why do we do it? are we nuts?

To illustrate my first point, take a look at the two pictures below: the top is an award winning community shop Lodsworth Larder in West Sussex http://www.lodsworthlarder.co.uk and at the bottom is a typical Tesco store. You know what i am going to say…

….where would you rather be?
Supermarkets feed the human herding instinct to be with others like yourself, have a sense of belonging (clubcards, loyalty cards etc) and not to miss out (reductions, offers, vouchers). Many small retailers of all types (including my shop) recognise the frustration customers have in this overcrowded environment and offer a ‘holiday feel’ relaxed shopping experience. We often take the trouble to explore the quaint village shops on holiday and exciting little boutiques with new, interested and unique products, why not do this at home? It is very addictive feeling: to be relaxed, free from the stress of crowds and in control of your purchasing.

Do you really feel any better for owning a basket full of BOGOF deals?

Marketing tools have only one purpose: to make us spend more! How many times did you go for milk/bread and walk out with a £30 basket? Could you say that about your small cornershop? Do you really feel any better for owning a basket full of BOGOF deals? This is your ego being massaged, you feel good to brag about the stuff you got free!
Personally, i spent many years scooping up deals, happy until i had to use or eat the goods i had bought, upset at the poor quality or taste, and vowing never to buy cheap again. This cycle ends when you discover a small independent shop you never knew existed, and buy only what you need for a little more money, and then feel you have value because it is better than you expected (not worse!)

when shopping adds joy to your soul

My wife Jo and I love exploring little backstreets, seaside town streets, craft fayres, farmers markets and small shopping arcades. This is the best places to find the most unusual hand crafts, artisan foods, retro and antique shops. Every now and then you stumble on one treasure that really inspires you, a beautiful store full of wonders that are perfect to you and your life, this is when shopping adds joy to your soul! You take something away from the day that can never be bought at a supermarket.
We often find this shopping’ X factor’ in quite ordinary products, say like cheese or recently this christmas i discovered Spicy Tomato Chutney from The Cherry Tree at a local Food Fayre http://www.cherrytreepreserves.co.uk/Online-Shop/Chutneys/Spicy-Tomato-and-Caramelised-Onion/

Mary Portas, the retail expert and columnist for Daily Telegraph is a great champion for the small shopkeeper who is constantly looking for the X factor in the high street. She said recently at that London Local Shop Awards ceremony of giving local shops the “recognition they deserve”.

I think i can sum up what i am saying with; happiness is not found in endless consuming, you only need to find a few special things in your life to find contentment